Just for those of you that do not already know, both the seller and the buyer are CR listmembers.
My personal feeling is that the price offered was slightly above what the market would usually ascribe to this particular bike. The price was however not in any way obscene. It would also not surprise me if the brakeset were not perhaps switched over to another bike in the collection of the buyer. The high bidder has been able to accumulate some very nice bikes in a relatively short time and there are a few which would see their values increase substantially by adding the Campagnolo brakes.
For any item for sale that I look at, there are always 3 prices: the price I would be willing to pay that will allow me to resell profitably, the price at which I can buy for addition to my collection with the assurance that I can readily recoup my purchase price, and. the price at which I am willing to pay to add something that I truly want for my own personal satisfaction. Like most CR listmembers, I have at times paid well over market price to simply be able to immediately finish off a bike. There is in fact nothing worse than having a bike sitting around that is 95% finished. Even if I pay double the going rate for the last item needed to complete the bike, I am happy. I therefore rarely condemn anybody about spending on soemthing that gives them pleasure, unless of course their personal financial situation was already under pressure. Another idea that I have always sympathized with is Charles' position that when buying top-notch items: you cannot pay too much, only too early.
Steven Maasland
Moorestown, NJ